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This website will allow customers across the United States to easily purchase products over the Internet. Photo: Black Splitter

A deal has been cemented between Atlantic Excavator Attachments and Power Equipment Direct to begin selling Black Splitter wood splitting attachments online on . This move represents the firm’s entry into e-commerce, which will allow customers across the United States to easily purchase products over the internet.

“Our customers often ask me why don’t they make splitters that can accommodate oversized logs,” said Dale Vogelsanger, Log Splitter’s direct product expert. “The Black Splitter answers that question and ultimately saves them time and money, which is what drives all of us. The overall quality of these attachments is truly impressive and I am happy to be offering them.”

Several models of Atlantic’s Black Splitter are currently available online, including the S2630, S2800 and S2X800. With this website, users are provided with the tools required to make informed buying decisions, the company says. The website includes features, product photos, reviews, specifications and shipping details.

“We witnessed the power of the internet and social media in a recent marketing campaign conducted on several online platforms; the increased sales, call volume and product exposure was great,” said Eric Ransome, Atlantic’s owner. “A growing number of consumers research products, check online reviews and even make purchases online. Having these attachments available through Power Equipment Direct gives customers across the U.S. the ability to find and purchase our products through a reputable online distributor.”

Rachio announces smart sprinkler controller

Rachio announced its smart sprinkler controller is the first to be directly integrated into the Google Assistant. Additionally, Rachio says it will be compatible with the SmartThings platform as a certified Works with SmartThings partner. Rachio says these integrations make it easier for homeowners to control their sprinkler systems.

Rachio says that homeowners can save up to 50 percent off their monthly water bills by monitoring weather and automatically adjusting irrigation schedules.Photo: Rachio

Rachio’s app allows manageability for the sprinkler system from any smart mobile device. Any supported Google Home device can be used to control almost every aspect of their sprinkler system by saying, “Okay Google, ask Rachio to stop watering,” or “Okay Google, tell Rachio to set a rain delay.”

Additionally, an advanced scheduling capability of SmartThings was added so users can add their Rachio controller as a “Thing,” and manage sprinklers directly within the SmartThingsApp. Slated to go live in mid-April, Rachio says that homeowners will appreciate the option to incorporate the controller into SmartThings routines, such as using a ‘door open’ sensor to stop watering a specific zone.

“The smart home industry is experiencing explosive growth thanks to technologies like voice control. By adding the popular Google Assistant to the Rachio ecosystem, we’re making it even easier for people to make smart choices around irrigation,” said Chris Klein, CEO of Rachio. “We’re committed to staying at the forefront of the smart home by partnering with leaders in the space and continually driving innovation.”

Rachio’s portfolio of smart home integrations currently includes Amazon Alexa, Control4, IFTTT, Nexia and Wink, Crestron, Nest, Xfinity and now the Google Assistant.

Rachio says that homeowners can save up to 50 percent off their monthly water bills by monitoring weather and automatically adjusting irrigation schedules. By tapping into a home’s Wi-Fi network, Rachio’s Weather Intelligence connects to a network of thousands of weather stations. By analyzing past and future weather reports, the controller is able to consider the stats, as well as a yard’s soil type and lawn conditions. Homeowners are able to monitor and adjust their schedule from mobile devices. Rachio states that the controller can efficiently manage up to 16 zones and is compatible with nearly every home sprinkler system.

Foliar-Pak fertilizers going to national market

EnP announced it will market its Foliar-Pak brand fertilizers this summer nationally and will retire its EnP Turf brand.

The Foliar-Pak brand has been sold in the Midwest and Long Island, New York, while the EnP Turf brand was sold in multiple other locations. Both contain new amino acid and poly-amino acid technologies and the same formulations.

“Separate brands have created two separate communities, and as such, we found that the opportunities to share stories and provide all-encompassing customer service on a nation-wide platform were being constrained,”said George C. Murray, EnP president. “Our goal for retiring the EnP Turf brand and uniting behind Foliar-Pak is to connect the golf, lawn and landscape, and sports turf communities across the nation.”

According to the company, customers of the EnP Turf will notice new packaging, some new products in the line and new product names, but the performance and quality of EnP Turf products will remain consistent. Additional products will also be available to current Foliar-Pak customers that were previously exclusively sold under the EnP Turf label.

EnP says it is committed to developing results-driven and innovative products. After completing a $3.5 million warehouse expansion project, the company’s next move will be a state-of-the-art multimillion-dollar manufacturing facility expansion.

“The Foliar-Pak product line is stronger than it’s ever been, and the future is bright,” Murray said. “Our robust product development strategy has yielded multiple patent-pending technologies that are going to make a real difference in the turf and ornamental industry moving forward.”